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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

SwissMS - I liked both of your pieces but was really taken by If I Only Had a Brain. Somehow you managed to capture both the playful spirit and the melancholy of this great song. It is now stuck in my head.

I was experimenting with the placement of my Zoom when I recorded this. On this one I sat it on the music desk of my piano. While I liked the sound, being so close seems to have distorted the video somewhat and gave it a fishbowl effect (I'm a young Asian woman). I beat the heck out of the piano on the ending but surprisingly it did not distort.

If I could ever learn to play it as well as you I'd be a happy young Asian woman.

Thanks Glen! Not an easy tune to play and make a story. I still struggle with it. Seems to work better when I do less.

Originally Posted By: stumbler

Jazzwee, it didn't click the first time I listened to it, but after listening to a couple other versions on you tube, I went back to yours and it made a lot more sense. Nice performance.

Thank you stumblr! It's not a very well known tune.

Originally Posted By: Mark...

jazzwe great stuff, I had it playing as some nice background music while I was surfing the net...

Thanks Mark!

Originally Posted By: BillM

Jazzwee - very cool. Did you add reverb to the recording or is that the room's natural sound. Either way, this is a fine performance and recording. The piano solo was worth the wait - you saved the best for last.

Thanks Bill! As always, your performances bring not only an appreciation for your talent but also memories since your selections are from my youth.

Jazzwee - I'm curious to know what you mean by "Not an easy tune to play and make a story". Bill - You seemed to free up a bit more than usual on this one. Nice going. I've been working on it on and off for a good while but it's beyond me. Well done.SwissMS - I really liked Splash of Indigo (who wrote it?)

I was experimenting with the placement of my Zoom when I recorded this. On this one I sat it on the music desk of my piano. While I liked the sound, being so close seems to have distorted the video somewhat and gave it a fishbowl effect (I'm a young Asian woman). I beat the heck out of the piano on the ending but surprisingly it did not distort.

If I could ever learn to play it as well as you I'd be a happy young Asian woman.

Round of applause from the guy sipping the whiskey at the 'Bar'. Bill, that was a pleasure to listen to. Absolutely fantastic performance, really enjoyed it. Bravo!

Bill-That was so very entertaining! Your accompaniment and delivery combined with your voice goes so well together - lots of passion. Without question, this is your best yet, and they keep getting better all the time.

Jazzwee - I'm curious to know what you mean by "Not an easy tune to play and make a story".

Hi Newman. As you know we have to improvise a solo over it. The particular "changes" (chord progression) to Beatrice are unusual. They are not the typical ii-V's of most standards and yet it changes keys constantly. Also it's a slow swing which requires typically more 16 notes and a very precise timing when playing eighths.

Most of the musicians who've played it the first time with me don't do so well.

A good solo tells a story and there's some buildup. It is composition in real time. And we learn to do it based on experience with similar progressions we've worked on before. Being a unique chord progression, we tend to have nothing to draw from in terms of "vocabulary" (learned approaches).

Somebody on the Recital posting wanted to hear the full piece that I`d done (I only submitted the first part) so here it is, if you have a minute or six to spare (you can fast forward to the half way point if desired).

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I am currently uploading all of my written piano sheets onto my blog to make things easier. I also have written out a few more sheets. All free check it out if you want Any questions, PM me

Elssa - Blimey, playin` the ole joanna`s hard enough without all this other stuff! Very well done. It reminds me of the days of the electric organ, some of which were hugely expensive . . . like the price of a house!

I was thinking of saying "Why not try playing the bass melody (which is so effective) wi your left hand instead of crossing them?" but it might scramble your brains like it does to me . .

So I won`t say it. . . .

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"I'm playing all the right notes � but not necessarily in the right order." Eric Morecambe

Peterws - Wow! This is really well done. The middle section has a cool island vibe and you flow seamlessly between the three sections. The video was fun - I thought my computer screen had gone blank at the beginning until the eyes started lighting up.